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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2012 14:16:21 GMT -5
First off I just want to say how flipping cute is the new forum banner!
I wanted to see if any of you know if organic coconut oil is ok to give ferrets as a replacement for extra virgin olive oil. I know its high in saturated fats but the good kind. I was thinking about switching my cook oils again. a long time ago I read a articular about organic coconut oil. They did a study on pig to fatten them up. They added high amounts of coconut oil to the diet of the pigs and it just made them leaner. I used to use it on my hair and it worked wonders. I also know that when heated the chemical structure doesn't change a much as olive oil does. So the oil retains much of its nutritional value. What I don't know is If coconut is harmful in any way to ferrets.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2012 14:40:32 GMT -5
I've heard it is ok, and my ferrets love the taste. Just be careful, if you give them more than maybe a half teaspoon at a time they can get oily diarrhea!
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Post by Heather on Feb 3, 2012 14:44:39 GMT -5
It's not harmful. You'd have to watch for nut allergies...they cannot process it, properly..veggies right. The thing with olive oil is that it supposedly has anti inflammatory properties and helps reduce tumours. I'm not sure that coconut provides that benefit (I noticed that it too bears these claims from prowling a couple of sites). I know that coconut oil has become the "new in" in fats. Supposedly meant to promote lean muscle mass, cure alzheimers, the list is getting longer daily.... I"m very sceptical these days of jumping on the bandwagon so to speak. I've seen these promises before...many, many times. You certainly won't harm your little ones but I'm not sure you will be doing them any good either. I just browsed through a couple of links, there's a ton of information out there. As far as I can see, there is nothing about it being beneficial for carnivores. Seemingly dogs can reap some benefits, people are feeding it to their cats and ferrets (yes, they are mentioned) but there is no feedback as to the outcome. Someone to ask would be Jennifer, mustilidmusk, she's very good with a broad expanse of knowledge covering supplements ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2012 14:54:41 GMT -5
I never understood why everyone says ferrets can't process plant based oils, but yet olive oil always gets a pass, even though it's also from a plant. Can they process olive oil? I don't get what makes it different.
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Post by Heather on Feb 3, 2012 15:12:30 GMT -5
Supposedly, they can make use of the anti-inflammatory properties. The amount I feed is minimal because I'm still not sure that it isn't a lot of hype to be honest. I've fed only protein oils until the last year or so. Has changing it helped...it cut my costs by a third (the protein oils are a lot more expensive)....has it worked to help my guys get less tumours, increased their lifespan? Truthfully, don't know. My biggest lifesaver right now is the DES implant, it has nothing to do with supplements...but I know it's working. I didn't have problems before, the ones with tumours are still getting them, so it's not stopping my guys from getting tumours. Is it helping them...maybe. I honestly don't know for sure. I've got more cardiac problems but it's the ferrets not the supplement. Can you honestly tell without bloodwork and biopsies, I don't think so. That's why anecdotal information is so sketchy. That's why I tell people it's a plant based product, they really don't make much use of it and they will have to do their own conclusions. I think a lot of these claims don't bear in mind that tumours go into remission. All it would take would be for me to have a wee one with an aggressive or stubborn tumour and it to suddenly heal up, stop weeping, scab over and if I recently changed oils or anything for that matter I could claim that whatever I changed cured or put the tumour in remission. Word travels fast these days and suddenly the word gets distorted then one ferret becomes dozens and then it's a cure. It all started with one ferret and a tumour. I'm not saying it doesn't work. I'm just saying I"m old and sceptical. I know raw feeding works. Those numbers don't lie....I've been feeding raw for over 15 yrs. The supplements, that's a different story. They come and go. Most of the supplements that are used are garnered from information for the use with humans. Ferrets aren't humans, dogs aren't humans. Unless there's a study that proves the information, you don't know if it works. If it works for you little ones then do it. Sometimes, it just makes us feel like we're doing something right, when we're in a situation that we're powerless to change. Just my take on it. ciao
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 3, 2012 16:17:58 GMT -5
I feed it to my dogs, the ferrets don't like it, I tried it on them once and they just ignored it. I don't really give any oils to the ferrets since I ran out of salmon awhile back.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2012 16:47:20 GMT -5
I have mixed olive oil with cod liver oil, but cod liver oil has high vitamin content so it's not a good base oil, right? Only good to give them a tiny bit at a time?
If I wanted to try animal-based oils instead of olive oil, for daily treats and to help with skin, coat, and hairballs, what would be a good staple animal-based oil that I wouldn't have to be worried about them overdosing on?
The only animal-based oil I've seen in the grocery store is cod liver oil. What animal-based oils could I try? I've heard of salmon oil, but what kind of stores even sell it? I've never seen it.
I've heard of emu oil, made from the fat of emus. Is that stuff good? It's probably just as expensive as salmon oil though...
What about "fish oil" like the kind they sell in capsules? What kind of fish is this made of? Anyone know where you can buy it in a bottle?
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Post by Heather on Feb 3, 2012 18:21:02 GMT -5
I've used Emu...it's really expensive and I don't see that it did any difference than say salmon oil (it claims all sort of healthy properties too) My guys liked it (I've got a friend who raises emu), so I will buy it occasionally. I use a mix of marine fish oils (sardine, anchovy and mackerel, it's preserved with vit e) It's not cheap, sets me back $50 for a litre. I also use seal oil that I also get from a local company, which I buy by the case. I don't think I've used salmon oil in years. The smaller fish have less time to accumulate contaminants and they're not farmed like salmon. I prefer not to have to deal with capsules because so often they've got other "interesting" fillers such as soya (which is mostly a GM product now). ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2012 19:25:53 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2012 19:41:32 GMT -5
I've fed coconut oil - my guys absolutely adore it (and it's great for skin and hair, too, for us people). I don't feed it everyday, but in moderation it's a great way to get variety (just watch out for sensitivities).
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2012 20:27:59 GMT -5
Just curious, why does everyone say to use extra virgin olive oil instead of just plain olive oil?
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Post by Heather on Feb 3, 2012 22:26:39 GMT -5
I actually use light olive oil....my guys won't even consider the regular or the EVO....Guess I should watch what acronym I use (by the way light means mild flavour not light fat) Now, that's the consideration Jackie, thank you for bringing it up. I was trying for the life of me to remember why Jennifer had suggested it, I knew it wasn't the hairball factor. I knew that there was an anti-inflammatory factor because they were suggesting it's use for the IBD kids....That was it, the whole helocobactor factor....hmmmm....now there's a positive. I've not had to treat an ulcer since starting using it (knock on wood or add a bit more EVO or OO). I have 3 fuzzes who are on heavy end meds too and 3 more being treated for adrenal (helicobactor loves adrenal kids). I take it back , maybe it does work ;D ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2012 22:44:40 GMT -5
I just bought 2 bottles of EVOO. Trixie likes it, but Pixie and Dixie are NOT fans. Pixie acts like its poison I'm going to try to mix it with some pumpkin and see if I can get them used to it over time. I know Pixie loves regular or light OO. It's probably the extra flavor that's throwing her off.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2012 18:01:45 GMT -5
I plan to start giving my ferrets a bit of coconut oil on occasion too since I started using it for myself.
The big thing with this oil is that it has medium chain fatty molecules which when ingested do not require any preperation by your body for your cells to use. They go directly into the cell and are immediaitely used up as energy and none is stored as fat.
Basically, its like free energy. Gives you boosts with absolutely no negative.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2012 19:06:20 GMT -5
I also use light olive oil. My fuzzbutts will not touch virgin, extra virgin, shmirgin, or any other kind of olive oil! Too strong-tasting I guess. But they LUUUUUV light olive oil
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